Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center

Micheal Reese Hospital and Medical Center
2008 photograph of Micheal Reese Hospital underpass entrance view from 29th Street.
Geography
Location	2929 S. Ellis Avenue Bronzeville, Chicago, Illinois, 60616, United States
Coordinates	41°50′29″N 87°36′49″W / 41.84138°N 87.61356°W / 41.84138; -87.61356
Organization
Funding	Public hospital
Hospital type	Community Teaching
Services
Beds	1,008 (1991)
History
Founded	1881
Closed	August 31, 2009
Demolished	October, 2009–2013
Links
Lists	Hospitals in the United States

Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center was an American hospital located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1881, Michael Reese Hospital was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. It was located at 2929 S. Ellis Avenue on the near south side of Chicago, next to Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Route 41) which lies along Lake Michigan. The hospital closed its Internal Medicine Residency at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year and finished transferring patients to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center before the end of 2008. The 48-acre campus was then vacated by January 2009 and calls to the main number were greeted by: "We're sorry. All circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later." From 2007 to its closing, Michael Reese had been owned by Envision Hospital Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona. The hospital officially closed August 31, 2009. At one time, the hospital had a large health plan which included 300,000 patients; at the time of the hospital's closure the health plan was terminated and it only had 2,900 clients. The streets through the campus were closed and demolition began in October 2009.

Michael Reese was a real estate developer who died in 1877, leaving funds in his will to build a new hospital. Reese's heirs requested that the hospital would be open to all people, regardless of creed, nationality, or race. Construction of the first hospital on the corner of 29th and Groveland Avenue was completed in 1880. In its early years, it served a diverse array of mostly European immigrants; by the time the hospital was shuttered in 2009, it primarily served the black community. For much of its history, Michael Reese was dedicated to charity care as well as medical research and education. In 1890, the hospital established a training school for nurses in order to ensure a steady supply of nursing staff. A Centennial History of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 1881-1981. Chicago: Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 1981. In 1899, the hospital became famous as the first US institution to implement a motorized ambulance service. The vehicle was electric, running on a 44-cell battery. Similar models used shortly thereafter in New York City had a top speed of 16 miles per hour and a range of approximately 25 miles before they needed to be recharged.